✶ CHAPTER III,
Motel Danger.

    Camille waited outside the Coast Guard office by the docks as the rest of the group went inside. Her eyes were glued to her nails as she picked up sand from underneath them. She was thankful to be under a roof, considering she had been under the sun since she woke up and her skin was begging her to step out of it. The breeze blew against her, her hair dancing in the wind as sweat pearls formed on her neck.

     Her eyes picked up from her nails, seeing the group approach her with unpleasant looks on their faces. She leaned on a wooden pole, waiting for them to stop once they got close enough.

     "Well, that went well." Pope sighed. John B was next to Camille as Kiara leaned on the pole across from her.

     The Langley raised her brow. "What happened?" She asked looking at the four of them.

     "Nothing. They were dealing with other people, so they just dismissed us." Kiara told her, shrugging.

     "What're we supposed to do with the key now?" Camille looked at John B, who spared her a glance. "Yeah, what's the plan?" JJ followed up, his arm propped up on John B's shoulder.

     The Routledge boy held the key up in the air. "I think I know how we're gonna find the guy who owns that boat." He told them, and the group rapidly understood what he meant.

      "No, no. We don't know whose room that is. It could belong to anyone." Pope protested, pointing at the key in John B's hand.

     "I'm in." JJ grabbed the key, tossing it in Kiara's direction, the girl catching it with a grin.

      "Come on. We'll be lookout." Kiara coaxed, smiling at Pope.

      JJ put his arm around Camille's shoulder. "Come on, princess." He followed behind Kiara.

     "I can feel your armpit sweat on my arm, and it is disgusting." Camille's face churned in repulsion, shrugging off his arm.

     "You always complain about everything, don't you?" JJ dropped his arm, turning his head to look at her. "Only when it has to do with you." She grinned.

     Camille had sat down on the bow of the boat, legs crossed as she fanned her face with her hands, switching between them once she got tired of using the other. JJ watched with an amused smile, the girl opened her eyes and took notice of the smug look on his face. She raised an eyebrow in question.

     "Who's the sweaty one now?" He teased her, raising his brows at her.

     "I will push you off this boat." She blinked, her lips falling in a straight line.

     JJ put his hand across his heart, feigning a frown which was suit replaced by a laugh rolling off his lips.

     "We're here." John B announced, making the two turn their eyes to the sight of the motel in front of them.

     JJ whistled, "I thought the Château looked bad." He spoke, now standing next to Camille as he grabbed onto the rope to tie down the boat.

     "This place is a shitshow."

     "Motel or meth lab?" Kiara inquired, looking at the group of friends. "You be the judge," said Pope.

     "Doesn't look like a place somebody with a Grady-White would stay." John B spoke up as he drove the boat closer to land.

     "No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed." Pope shook his head, correcting John B's statement.

     Camille looked at the motel. "This looks like the motels in serial killer documentaries." Camille shrugged.

     "That's real comforting, Cami." Pope nodded his head at her. "Glad I could be of help," She smiled.

     "This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landing." JJ announced as he jumped off the tip of the boat, landing on the grass as he tied the boat down.

      "All right. Here goes nothin'."

     Pope stopped John B. "Hey. Don't let him do anything stupid." He told the Routledge, pointing at JJ, eyes squinted due to the sunlight.

     "Oh, we will." JJ nodded his head. "I'm not making promises." John B shrugged.

     "Don't die!" Camille chirped as she propped her legs, sitting crisscrossed on the bow of the boat.

     "Cami, get up." Kiara looked back at her with a raised brow. "I just got comfortable, Kie," Camille whined.

     "You're going with them," Kiara added. Camille's eyes burnt on her friend, staring at her as if she were waiting for her to say she was kidding. JJ laughed, mocking her immediately.

     "What? Why?"

     "Because JJ has no self-control and John B won't do anything to stop him." Pope shrugged with a sided smile.

     This made JJ's smile drop. "Are you saying I need a babysitter?" He questioned, pointing at Kiara and Pope.

     "Are you admitting you're a baby?" Camille raised an eyebrow, looking at him. The dirty blond just stared at her blinking.

     "Uh, be careful." Kiara looked at John B, slipping the keys into his hand. "I mean it." A smile reached her lips as she looked at the Routledge.

    Camille raised her brow at the interaction. She wasn't sure if she was reading too much into nothing. Perhaps she was.

      John B began walking away with JJ and Camille following closely behind him.

     They walked up the stairs of the building, looking for the room number engraved on the key on each door they passed. Camille walked next to John B, who stood in the middle.

     "Just be so careful, John." JJ mocked Kiara, as he ran his hand down John B's jaw. Camille chuckled softly as she watched John B push the boy off him, "God, you're so weird."

    "What was that about?" JJ asked, John B now in front of the other two.

     "I don't know. Maybe she just wants us to be careful." John B shrugged, looking behind to see the boy before he turned back around.

     "Since she heard you're being threatened with exile, she's just been, like, 'Oh! Be so careful, John B'." JJ began massaging the boy's shoulders as Camille tried holding back her laughter. JJ was once again being pushed off before he continued, "'Oh, just give me that John D already.' Like, when are you gonna swoop on that, man?"

     "Bro, you know the rule No Pogue-on-Pogue macking. Besides, you're the one always hitting on her." John B turned sideways to look at JJ.

     Camille wondered if the rule weren't there if John B would shoot his shot. She understood why the rule was there -- to prevent their friend group from rotting away because of anything happening amongst them, but she also understood that feelings weren't a thing you could control, much less easy to erase.

     "Of course, I'm hitting on her. She's a super-hot, rich, hippie chick slumming with us. Like with Cami, except she's  annoying." JJ glanced at her. "Still hot though." He grinned.

Camille stopped walking, considering they had blocked the corridor. "I know that door's locked because I've tried it. Have you?" JJ asked, referring to Kiara.

     "My door's locked as well." Camille looked at the Maybank boy, the dirty blond boy flashed her a smile. "I'm not done tryin' yet." He grinned making the girl roll her eyes.

    "You need help." John B continued walking, looking at JJ. "Not a little bit of help, you need a lot of help. It's like every person who just has a heartbeat, you're like... 'Uhh!'." He continued.

     "What? It's not a big deal." JJ defended, furrowing his brows.

     "No, it just makes you seem like a desperate little dog." Camille bats her lashes at him while grinning.

     "Shut up, Langley."

     Before they could get into their bickering, John B interrupted. "Is that us? Twenty-Nine." John B asked, pointing at the door number. "This is it," He answered himself.

     JJ walked towards the door, knocking on it rhythmically. "Housekeeping!" He said in a high-pitched tone, making Camille stifle a laugh since she wasn't expecting that.

     "Should we try it?" John B asked as no one answered the door, and they couldn't hear anyone inside.

     "Yeah, try it. No power. No security cameras. No one's gonna know." JJ answered, turning the knob after the key had turned all the way.

     The trio walked in, their flashlights in hand which they pointed in every direction, viewing the motel room. JJ went to check a jacket, searching for a name tag as John B rummaged through the duffel bag placed on one of the beds. Camille opted for opening drawers, hoping to find... anything.

     "Yo, dude, come here. Maybe this is where they were fishing." JJ ran his finger through the papers placed on the nightstand. John B and Camille walked toward him, pointing their flashlights at the papers.

     "No, that's off the continental shelf. That's Big Swell. Nobody fishes there." John B answered.

     Camille walked inside the bathroom, trying to find anything at all about who could the boat's owner possibly be. As of then, they had no clues whatsoever. JJ walked in behind her. "Ooh!" he exclaimed ransacking through a toiletry bag.

     "Did you find anything?" John B called out. "Yeah. A really awesome Dopp kit you and Cami won't let me steal." JJ replied, pulling out a bottle of pills, and stuffing it in his pocket.

     "Yeah, 'cause we're not stealing shit." John B added.

     "Put that back." Camille looked at him, and the boy grinned in response, eyes burning into her own. "C'mon, princess. Live a little." He looked at her, walking away from her.

     He walked back into the room, looking at John B who was trying to get into the safe. "Punching shit at random. That will... Definitely work." JJ told John B, who was trying to open a safe.

     "Wait a second, wait a second. Here." The Routledge got up from his crouched down position, grabbed a paper from the nightstand, walking back to the safe.

     Camille watched as John B punched the numbers written on the paper in, the safe clicked and flashed green lights. John B opened it, chuckling softly as he looked up at Camille who held a face of shock, a small smile painting over her lips. An envelope, wads of cash, and a gun. "Holy shit." John B said, grabbing a bundle.

     "Uh... JJ? You're gonna wanna see this."

     JJ walked towards them, as John B moved out of the way so he could see better. A smile curled his lips upwards as utter shock reflected in his eyes. "Dude, dude, dude!" Unexpectedly, he reached in and pulled out the gun.

     "You grabbed the gun." John B stated. "Put the gun back, JJ!" He scolded as JJ walked away from him, parading the gun in his hand around the room.

    "This is a SIG Sauer. This is a fucking spendy gatt, man! Just... Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!" JJ squealed, pointing the gun in different directions of the motel room, pretending he was shooting.

     "JJ put it back. That could've been used for anything. Like, maybe, murder!" Camille scolded, as the boy held it in the opposite direction every time she moved.

     "We're not stealing anything." John B reminded.

     "Just take a pic of me. Right here." JJ posed, holding up the gun. "Cami, come here. Pose with me." The boy grabbed her forearm, pulling her to him as he posed again, wrapping his arm around her chest as he stood behind her, holding the gun up. Camille looked up at him as if he were crazy before taking his arm off her.

"You want me to take a picture of you? Make our own incriminating evidence? Is that what you're talking about?" John B furrowed his eyebrows.

     The sound of clattering on the window made both Camille and John B turn their attention off of JJ. "Wait, what was that?" JJ asked, turning around. John B peeked through the blinds, looking down. "Shit." He cursed, jumping over the bed to the windows next to the door.

     "What is it?" JJ asked as Camille held the same look of confusion, walking closer toward him. "Cops." John B muttered softly, the three tearing themselves away from the door in a state of panic.

     "If we hide underneath the bed, you think they'll find us?" Camille whispered as softly as possible, looking at the two boys to see John B going out the window.

     JJ grabbed hold of the girl's arm, pushing her out the window before following behind her. The trio stood on a ledge, John B on one side and JJ and Camille on the other.

     "What the fuck." JJ whispered as he tore his eyes away from the window to look at John B. Camille was next to him but further from the window so she furrowed her brows, not knowing what they were talking about. "Do you believe..." JJ started in the same hushed whisper, digging around in his pocket, but the gun fell from his pocket, clattering on the metal trash bin underneath them.

     His hand wrapped around Camille's forearm, the cold of his ring sending a shiver throughout her. He pushed her further and moved closer to her, nearly in front of her. He turned his face away from John B and looked at her. Her eyes burned into his due to their proximity. They were barely even breathing, afraid to make the slightest noise.

     At the sound of the motel room door closing loudly, a sigh escaped her lips as relief washed over her. JJ let his hand drop from her forearm, looking at her while breathing softly.

     "You smell nice," He said, the words tickling her ear due to how close they were.

author speaks!
i love jj & cami banter hehe

when cami's assigned to babysit jj
and john b has to babysit them both 🥰